Why do cameras still need ND filters?

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Obviously it was a thing for film cameras, but now that everything is digital, something like “just make the picture darker” seems extremely easy to do with software

quick edit, I know what ND filters are for and how to use them, no need to explain. it just seems to me that it could be engineered in a way that doesn’t require them, which is what I’m asking about

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26 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

Cameras have a maximum brightness they can see, which you usually don’t want to hit because it makes parts of your image pure white with no details.

You can reduce the light by making the shutter speed faster or the aperture smaller, but this changes how the image looks because it affects how much background blur and motion blur there is.

If you want a certain look, like a nice blurred background and realistic motion blur (especially when shooting video) then you need to use settings on the camera than will naturally let a lot of light in, so during the day it might be too bright and you’d need another way to reduce light like an ND.

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